Amrap has launched a satirical online radio station to poke fun at Commercial Radio Australia’s (CRA) successful - and unpopular - bid to eliminate Australian music quotas from commercial digital radio stations.

Amrap has launched ‘Midnight Gaga Radio’ as part of its new Australian Music Blog Amrap Discovered (www.amrap.org/blog). Midnight Gaga Radio broadcasts a ‘mash up’ of Midnight Oil’s 1980s commercial radio hit with Lady Gaga's song ‘Poker Face’. The track is performed live by Amrap staff on an '80s Casio keyboard.

Midnight Gaga Radio highlights the inconsistency in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) recent statement that removing Australian music quotas enables commercial radio to “experiment with programming formats, including the programming of niche services such as ‘event channels’ like Pink Radio and Radio Gaga.”

“Amrap works with community radio stations to generate airplay opportunities for Australian music artists,” explained Amrap Manager, Chris Johnson. “As such, we are compelled to express our concern over this recent move by the commercial radio sector to evade their regulatory responsibility to support Australian music on the digital radio platform.”

“Do ACMA and CRA seriously believe that devoting a radio station to advertise a single American pop star is a legitimate and innovative use of Australia’s radio spectrum? If so, Midnight Gaga Radio might just be a winner. In the meantime, Amrap will continue its important work of promoting radio airplay for Australian musicians around the country,” Johnson said.

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's (CBAA) General Manager, Michele Bawden said, "As metro community broadcasting stations move towards digital broadcasting in the second half of 2010, our sector will proudly maintain our commitment to Australian music quotas. We will continue to be the instigator of innovation and experimentation for Australian broadcasting into the digital era."

The Amrap Discovered blog showcases hundreds of unsigned and signed Australian music artists getting airplay on community radio stations. Find Midnight Gaga Radio on the Amrap Discovered blog at www.amrap.org/blog.